Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup

Ketchup is a summer staple. We douse our burgers liberally with it, we use it as a base for some salad  dressings.The problem with is that this condiment can be mundane and bring down dishes instead of enhancing them. Not so anymore. There's a new ketchup out there and it is truly a blessing.

Traina Foods of California, long know for its's dried fruits and sun dried tomatoes has taken it a step further with a new ketchup. It is made from sun dried Roma tomatoes from the San Joaquin Valley.It truly is a step up from the regular everyday ones. This is a robust condiment that has a very distinct taste, rich with the after tang of sun ripened tomatoes. It also has a texture with bits of  tomatoes . The ketchup is wonderfully chunky and flavorful. Once you haveCalifornia Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup, you;ll be hard pressed to go back to regular ketchup with it's runniness and almost comparatively bland taste.

The sun dried ketchup is good on burgers,  as well as the perfect dip for barbecued steaks and chops. The condiment's sweetness is the right foil for the meat. You could also easily use it as a marinade for any beef cut or even chicken. It 's sheer heaven when paired with ham in a sandwich.(yes, ham and ketchup go so well together, really)You can even try combining it with a gourmet mayo to create an ethereal French dressing. Imagine how it would taste , dressing a salad Nicoise or just a plain Spring green one.The sun dried tomato ketchup also adds zing to devilled eggs, giving the filling a truly rich flavor. and feel.

This summer try California Sun Dried Tomato Ketchup to enhance  your barbecues, salads and burgers.It is a delicious plus, bringing  a rich flavor to classic warm weather fare.Forget the regular stuff .Use this for a truly gourmet and uterrly tasty flavor addition..

The Delicacy Of Frog's Legs

Frog's legs and France were so entwined at one time it was hard not to think of one without thinking of the other.Then les jambe des grenouilles fell out of favor.Now they're back. ,not just in the traditional style but also served in a variety of new ways.(warning ,for Kermit lovers ,this could be graphic seriously) Elaine Sciolino rediscovered them and wrote about them in her Letter From Paris column in yesterday's New York Times Dining section.She visited a fourth generation chef ,Christophe Marguin. His great grandfather first made the national dish in 1906 when the frogs were caught out of a family pond. monsieur Marguin followed his heritage and opened up a restaurant ,not only serving the amphibian but also decorated with them as well.There are even hand painted frogs on the plates as well as frog statues and statuettes.Frogs are now imported to France ,usually from Poland, Albania and the Far East.The French government had put a ban on frog hunting since the 1980's however there are some relaxation to the law.Marguin and his wife actually raise them which is legal.There is barn full of them which his wife tends. As for the meat itself, Mssr. Marguin serves them in the traditional style ,sautéed with butter.The legs are first broiled and then drenched with a frothy butter sauce cooked over a low flame.There is also a galette,made with potatoes almond powder and white wine.There is the overly decadent caviar and scrambled eggs decorated with frog legs slivers and chives along with a crusty tart redolent with mushrooms and nuggets of frog meat(author's note although I'm writing about this,I really don't like the idea of eating frog.They're just too cute and really don't encourage my readers to do so).Surprisingly frogs are eaten in the American South,.Men catch then from ponds and creeks, cut off the legs and make them like chicken legs,coated in batter and deep fried.Where as the French serve the legs with champagne, good old boys like their froggies with a cold beer. France and frog legs are so enmeshed in each other.One can't think of French cuisine without them.For some foodies they are the ultimate delicacy.They represent true Gallic gourmet food.

Variations On A Picnic

This is the season for outdoor dining. Nothing beats a picnic on a warm breezy June day. for foodies it;'s a way of expressing themselves through a simple sandwich , drink and snack along with a quick dessert. The best part of eating outdoors is elevating to a truly gourmet level. You can still have the basics but amp them up to something supreme.

Varying this simple meal was the subject of  A Good Appetite in today's New York Times Dining section.Its' author, Melissa Clark suggests giving  the picnic its; due. Make it fancy, she orders, but not as fancy as say a Jane Austen outing with fine china, cold pigeon pie and gooseberry jams. Have thick picnic blankets with real flatware and some electric votive candles to set the mood ,especially for dusk dining. Keep the paper plates though (no one wants to comeback from a picnic with a hamper full of dirty china and glasses)/You can make one yourself or even have as restaurant provide you with your picnic fare (as Ms Clark also suggests.)

Ms. Clark recommends  the [pan bagnet for the perfect picnic sandwich. This is an upscale version of the classic tuna fish sandwich. It;s Provencale and redolent with not just tuna but also anchovy , along with olives tomatoes and basil, Olive oil and vinegar rare liberally sprinkled over a ciambatta (or more preferably Italian or French bread) and then pressed. Ms. Clark usually employs her young daughter for this ,allowing the girl to sit on it. You can just put the hamper or some heavy tiles on it. The next picnic recipe is a tasty haricot verte, green beans mixed with corns kernels and carrots , and dressed in a vinaigrette. The meal is finished off with a lemon poppy seed cake.

This is the time for  a good picnic. Elevate to a something special with good food and an elegant atmosphere. Enjoy a  gourmet sandwich along with an unusual salad .Finish it off with fresh air and the joy of a late spring day or evening

Don't Cook This Summer!

Every one hates cooking and baking when the temps soar. It makes you hot, crabby and uncomfortable, Yet to have delicious meals and desserts, you do have to use a hot oven, right? Wrong! There's a new cookbook out there that begs to differ.

Matt Kady has written  the perfect summer cookbook - one with stove free recipes.Yup, The No Cook, No Bake Cookbook has dozens of these that feature every meal made without the use of a burner or oven. It's a Ulysses Press book and it's a great one to have, especially if you hate any kind of cooking during the summer months or if you're staying in a summer house. Most of the recipes require all natural ingredients like rolled oats and fresh fruits and veggies (easy to get now with all the farmers markets and farms selling produce). They are easy to whip up and require really no effort.

The recipes are tasty and flavorful. You can start the morning with easy fruit wraps which is kind of like a cold blintz with a fruit coulis.There are also smoothies and even a variation of V-8 juice.Mr. Kady's lunch sandwiches would be  perfect for a beach party or park picnic., There are the colorful sardine sandwiches, chopped sardines with red onions, bell peppers and celery and  pizza stacks , cold made mini pies.You can definitely use some of the recipes such as the tomato cherry bruschetta and chickpea pitas. End with the no bake  almond thumbprint cookies or mango fool.

You don't have to  be tied to your stove to create tasty dishes and treats. Follow Matt Kady's The No Cook No Bake Cookbook and you'll have an entire cornucopia of easy to make foods. They're the perfect dishes to make during these hot, steamy days,

The Versatile Tuna

Tuna is one of the better and tastier foods of summer dining. There's a lot to be done with it . Different types can be grilled or thrown into a salad for easy cooking.Its one of those diverse types like poultry that can be prepared in so many ways.

Tuna can be great grilled on planks in the backyard. Any supermarket or fish market will have yellowfin or ahi tunas They're heartier than the albacore tuna that's sold in cans. These have a pinker meat and a heartier flavor. Ahi tuna can be used in sushi or better yet grilled.Most home chefs usually grill it.It can be marinated in soy or ginger sauceor left plain. Tuna steaks can also just be seasoned with salt and pepper along with  a squirt of lime or lemon juice.You can also bake them as well usually for only ten to fifteen minutes in a 400 degree oven.Some even prefer the easiest method of pan frying or broiling for a few minutes.

Canned tuna or albacore has always been a summer staple. Everyone loves a good tuna salad sandwich loaded with mayo along with chopped celery and onions. It's even good mixed in with plain macaroni ans a quick but filling salad. However albacore is good in any Provencale recipe. Try making a salad Nicoise with  a can of tuna in oil, hard boiled eggs and black olives along with regular salad bowl ingredients.Another Southern French specialty is spreading tuna on split open baguettes. Rub the bread with garlic cloves before adding the fish and sliced beefsteak tomatoes. You can also stuff peppers and tomatoes with tuna too for a fun and different lunch.

Make tuna a summer staple.It's a tasty and versatile fish. Tr y yellowfin or ahi on the grill at a barbecue or have a Provencale inspired sandwich or salad. Either way it's just a nice way of keeping it simple yet delicious during these summery days.

Too Many Cooks

It seems anyone can be cook nowadays.I recently caught both Trisha Yearwood an The Pioneer Woman on their own shows.Maybe we haveThe FoodNetwork to thank for this new wave of anyone can be a chef.The problem is that sometimes the wrong people are showing how to cook. Trisha Yearwood is probably a great singer.She has fans and she tops the country charts.I'm sure like all country gals she loves to cook but to have her own show.That's something beyond belief. even Paula Deene is another matter.She had her own recipe and is well versed in all aspects of the culinary world .She knows food. even Giada DeLaurentus with her Hollywood and Cine Citta connections (her grandfather is the great director Dino DeLaurentus) knows food and how to create it.HeWatching her and reading her books are true learning experiences.Ms.Yearwood,I don't know.I've seen one show and as both a foodie and a home cook was not impressed. Then there's the bloggers gone famous. I also saw an episode of Pioneer Woman cooking.I knew she was famous for her blog and I've even used it for reference for this one.Yet to give her her own show maybe it's pushing it a bit much.Although that said, there are plenty of bloggers out there who also use YouTube to not only show how to cook but also promote themselves themselves.I often wonder. What's happened to just plain writing about food similar to what every newspaper food writer does.Julia Moskin or Jeff Gordonier of the Times probably will never ha e their own show or following on YouTube.There's much to be said about good writing. Are we creating too many celebrity chefs these days? Yes.Maybe it's time to go back to the real chefs and our family recipes instead of all these star ones.

Must See Bake TV

There's yet another reality  competition  show out there and it's actually pretty sweet. It's called The American Baking Competition and it' a great summer diversion. CBS, did well with putting this on the air.All the contestants need to be is savvy  and creative in the kitchen. Best of all, they're not pros, just folks like you and me who just love to create sweet treats in their kitchen.

The show is a take off on a British reality show aptly named The Great British Bake Off which has spawned Comic Relief and wedding cake bake offs in England. One of the judges, Paul Hollywood becomes a judge here on the Yank version as well.He is a top professional baker in the UK and here  on the CBS show alternates between gruff and sweet. The other judge is Marcela  Valladolid who is famous for her show Mexican Made Easy on The Food Network. Not only is she a chef but she trained as a pastry chef at Paris' famed Escoffier School. Rounding this out is the host, surprisingly enough Jeff Foxworthy. He checks in with the contestants,  encouraging them like a folksy Tim Gunn.

I like this show. The contestants are real and don't come with the usual drama and tears that other realty show contestants have. They';re also not as backstabbing too. Another fun thing are the competitions. There are three within each show , focusing on on theme (the first was pies, this last week was cookies). Whoever gets the highest marks in all three is the winner, the one who gets the lowest sadly does have to go home.It should be interesting as the weeks go by to see who will survive or not. Hopefully there will also be recipe book too with this and a long life like Project Runway.

The summer TV season is usually lackluster with very few hits. CBS , however has definitely a full baked idea with The American Bake Off. This is must see TV at its' best.